Healthcare News

According to a presentation from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting, optical topographic imaging is an efficient, novel technique that allows for initial and repeat registration of the cervical spine and had accuracy similar to other spinal neuronavigation systems.

For patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion surgery, intraoperative methadone administration is associated with reduced postoperative opioid requirements, according to a study published in the May issue of Anesthesiology.

Seniors can benefit from herniated disc surgery, according to the results of a study conducted by Mattis A. Madsbu, a medical student at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and colleagues at the Department of Neurosurgery at St. Olavs Hospital in Trondheim, Norway. Madsbu’s supervisor was NTNU consultant neurosurgeon Sasha Gulati.

Inherent lordosis of the cage, an expandable nature, anterior position of the cage and compression of pedicle screws impacted the postoperative sagittal balance of patients who underwent transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion, according to a presenter at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting.

Investigators of this case report highlighted the use of 3-D printing for the development of customized prostheses and surgical planning, and noted the technology can make complex spinal surgery less difficult.

A new therapy to treat spinal cord injuries in people who have lost all motor and sensory function below the injury site shows additional motor function improvement at 6-months and 9-months following treatment with 10 million AST-OPC1. The positive efficacy results from an ongoing research study were announced on Jan. 24 in a conference held by Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc., the biotechnology company that manufactures AST-OPC1.

A new study reports that PJK risk following lumbar spinal fusion depends on the level of the spine fused. Specifically, the authors – who include members of the International Spine Study Group (ISSG) from multiple academic centers – found that fusing the lower portion of lumbar spine results in a decreased risk of PJK.

Spinal cord patients also are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease; pneumonia; life-threatening blood clots; bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction; constipation and other gastrointestinal problems; pressure ulcers; and chronic pain, according to a report published in the journal Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports.

Queensland researchers are launching a world-first clinical trial aimed at improving recovery from spinal cord injuries. In the study, led by The University of Queensland and The Princess Alexandra (PA) Hospital, a new anti-inflammatory drug will be given to participants within hours of spinal trauma in an effort to minimise tissue damage.

Researchers have developed a symmetry-recognition system for the surface of the human back that can three-dimensionally detect the early stages of idiopathic scoliosis, a type of spinal deformity, without the help of a specialist doctor.

Adults with chronic low back pain in the United States were more likely to use marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine and were also more likely to have a current prescription for pain-relieving opioid analgesics than adults without chronic low back pain, according to investigators.

In people with breathing difficulties caused by phrenic nerve injury, surgical reconstruction of the nerve can lead to significant improvement in breathing and an increase in regular physical activities, say researchers.

For the first time, scientists found that in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the affected nerve cells that control muscle movement, or motor neurons, have defects in their mitochondria, which generate energy used by the cell. Impaired mitochondrial function and structure in motor neurons were discovered before symptoms occurred, suggesting a role in disease development. These findings, published in Human Molecular Genetics, point to new possibilities for targeted therapy for SMA.

Physicians at Rush University Medical Center became the first in Illinois to inject AST-OPC1 (oligodendrocyte progenitor cells), an experimental treatment, into the damaged cervical spine of a recently paralyzed man as part of a multicenter clinical trial.